


Love Will Thaw

by HamilSupGeek



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: But no graphic depictions of it, But nothing sexual, Czech mythology, Father-Son relationship between Peter and Tony, Hell Norway, Kidnapping, M/M, May is fine, Mentions of drugging, Mini Bang, Named after Frozen but not Frozen compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Peter Stark Big Bang, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, She just leaves Peter in Tony's care because she wants him to have a superhero take care of him, i did my research, seriously, there's violence, this has some strong language at times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 21:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13667502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HamilSupGeek/pseuds/HamilSupGeek
Summary: After a mission goes terribly wrong, it's up to Tony and the team to find Peter before it's too late. Will Peter survive? Or will he become the servant of the great and powerful Živa? Read for some great Hurt/Comfort, bonding, and a pretty damn fluffy story about Peter and Tony growing closer.NOT Civil War/Homecoming compliant- basically the accords happened and everyone is fine and happy!!! (Like we're all secretly wishing they will be)Also- May leaves Peter to stay with Tony because she wants Peter to be safe and learn about being a hero and Peter lets her because he doesn't want to put May in danger. So that's that. (They visit on some weekends though, but that's not featured in here)





	Love Will Thaw

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! HamilSupGeek here- thanks for deciding to read! This has been a stressful fic for me to throw together, but I've had a lot of fun with it! When I signed up for this, I didn't actually know what to write about. I started five different stories, took a two month break, then came back and finished this one! I hope you all enjoy, if you want more Avengers stuff from me, let me know in the comments below! I love comments and kudos! You can check me out on tumblr @Alonzolovespie if you want to chat with me about this fic, or any of my others! I love you guys a bunch, thanks for reading!

_“You’re cute, darling. I’d venture to say adorable, even. What are you, a wanna-be superhero? The next Iron Man? As if. You’re just a helpless little kid in underoos! I can tell. Also, the whole spider thing? Don’t like it. Overused.”_

_Peter smiled a little. “Come on, it’s a little cool though, right? I’m trying to come off as badass, spiders are totally badass, see?” He shot a web, pinning the masked villain to the wall of McCarthy Square Plaza. “Totally badass.” He nodded at her, his signal for Karen. The web suddenly sent off a volt of electricity, causing the villain to scream. She threw her head back, panting and trying to gain control of herself. “Hope that didn’t hurt too bad, you’re gonna have to testify in a court of law. Kachow.” He made a finger gun with his hand, grinning excitedly. “Another score for the Spider-Man, waddup! Karen, call Mr. Stark, tell him that the target has been taken care of and that he can notify someone for pickup. Also, call Ned about tonight, tell him I’m free and that I’ve picked up the newest Lego Star Wars set to build. Also buy the newest Star Wars set from the nearest store that sells them. Oh! One more thing-”_

_All of a sudden, everything went fuzzy. He could hear Karen shouting at him, well, the most she could since she was just an AI, and he could feel the wind blowing through the city, could feel the smallest pinprick on the back of his neck, then everything went black._

* * *

 

Peter suddenly woke up, heaving for air and shivering from the cold. His whole body felt stiff, like it had been in a certain position for too long and he had forgotten how to move in certain ways. The air around him was the first thing he really noticed, it was dingy and smelled like metal or something... The next thing he noticed was the atmosphere as a whole. He was in some sort of old warehouse, only able to see the area around him. The rest of the room was pitch black except for a light that kept going on and off, but he would worry about his surroundings later. Right now he had a bigger problem at hand. His wrists were tied up above his head, toes left to barely graze the concrete ground beneath him. Peter groaned, finally realizing the gravity of the situation: He had been kidnapped.

It wasn’t uncommon for superheroes. To be completely honest, Peter was surprised that it hadn’t happened sooner. Being one of the up-and-coming superheroes in New York usually meant he would get targeted more than others, at least that’s what Mr. Stark had told him. Thing was, this was the first time Peter had ever actually been taken for a long period of time- he assumed it was long because he was tied up in an area that definitely did  _not_  strike him as New York, and since that was the last place he remembered being, it made the most sense that he had been kidnapped and kept for more than a twenty-four-hour time frame. Speaking of which, he  _really should find out the length of his stay_   _so far_.

He wanted to scream and cry and beg for mercy, but that’s not what Iron Man would do. He would stand tall, stay strong, and make sure that he got out alive. If that’s what Tony would do, then that’s what Peter would do too. Mr. Stark would kill him if he got killed during something as silly as a kidnapping, so he swallowed back his fear, forcing his bravery to take over.

Peter cleared his throat, swallowing a few times to try and relieve the achingly dry feeling that came with dehydration. He sighed softly, opening his mouth and coughing a bit before finally stuttering out, “K-Karen, how long have I been here?” He was met with silence. That’s when he realized he was tied up in just a pair of boxers. It then dawned on him that his secret identity was now revealed. That’s when he concluded that he was absolutely fucked.

That’s when he let the fear back in, completely panicking.

Peter pulled at the ropes with all his might, trying desperately to get down and escape, or at least to get down into a more comfortable position, then figure the rest out as he went on.

“Don’t bother,” An exhausted voice muttered across the room.

Peter’s head shot up and his eyes went big, surprised and a little startled. “Are you alright? Are you tied up too? Who are you?”

“I’m fine… and uh… just call me Dee.” She coughed, trying to sound better than she actually felt. “The ropes won’t budge, you know. They’re practically seared onto your skin… I’ve already tried to get out but… it didn’t work out too well for me.” The flickering light across the room stopped flashing long enough for Peter to see long streams of dried blood going down the girl's arms.

Peter drew in a sharp breath, taking in what Dee looked like to the best of his ability. “Oh my god, are you alright? You look absolutely terrible! How long have you been here?”

Dee shook her head, looking down to the ground below her, tracing the small dots of blood scattered around with her eyes. “Long. Too long. Long as you, actually. I can’t tell the difference between days in here, there’s no window. All you have is a signal from when the lights are on or off, and even then they could be fucking with us, turning the lights on and off for five hours at a time to make it seem like we’ve been here longer, or keeping the lights on for days and then off for days to make the time seem shorter… so far, I’ve been able to guess that we’ve been here for two weeks to a month. That’s just a guess though. Now, as for where we are, I think we may be somewhere in the Czech Republic, but ac-”

“Two weeks to a month?! No, that’s not right, that’s not right at all. I would’ve been picked up by now! The team would’ve found out where I was and helped me!” His fists clenched as he struggled to come to terms with everything. It was so much to learn all at once, and yet none of it seemed right. There was something weird about the whole situation.

“Sorry hot stuff, but that’s what I’m guessing on right now. I know it sucks, but it’s all we’ve got. As for location, it has to be somewhere cold. The guards are coming in here with heavy clothes made for snowy climates whenever they decide to feed or… you know.. Drug us and stuff.” She sounded troubled for a moment, then went back to her rant. “Anyways, they’re ready for the weather, and on top of that, whenever the door opens I feel cold air. Therefore, I’m guessing a very cold climate. Also I’m ruling out America and most European countries that have a higher income level, since those are easier to track people in. Plus we’re in a shitty warehouse, so there’s that regarding a poor economy. I’m thinking Russia or Norway now…”

Peter chuckled to himself, kicking a miniscule piece of broken cement around his small circle of light. “Hell, Norway I bet. Studied it a while ago in Geography. One of the coldest places in the world, really small village, no one would even know we were here due to their lack of technology. Everything is secluded and you’re left with a hell-like environment.”

Dee frowned a little, beginning to grow concerned. “How old are you? What’s your name?” The boy sounded young, too young to be in so much trouble.

Peter shrugged, looking up to Dee. “Fifteen. Maybe sixteen by now, actually. Name’s Peter.”

Dee shook her head, pulling lightly at the bonds, wanting more than anything to hug the kid. “God, I’m so sorry about this whole thing, darling. I’m twenty-seven and I have a three-year-old at home, I can’t begin to imagine how scary this must be for you.”

“While I appreciate the sympathy, miss, I’m not actually scared. You see, I’m an Avenger in training at the moment, secretly Spider-Man. I’m kinda a big deal.”

Dee chuckled, smiling at Peter’s antics. “I’m sure you are, kid, I’m sure you are. Look, we’re gonna get out of here, okay? I have a plan. The next time the guards come in, you distract them and I slip out of the ropes after rubbing my wrists enough to use my blood as a sort of lubricant, how does that sound? After that we can take the guards knives and run! They don’t have guns, I caught a glimpse of one of the guards belts last night.”

Peter nodded along with the plan, smiling a little. “Great! Sounds perfect, except for one small detail. You distract them and I’ll get my wrists out. I have enhanced healing, I’ll be able to stay alive in the cold with that much blood loss, you might not be able to. Sound good?”

“But-”

“No, Dee. I’m not going along with it if you get hurt.”

Dee held back a smirk at the sudden one-way trust that was established. Peter Parker, Spider-man  _himself_ , trusted her. The rest of this mission would be very  _very_ easy if everything continued how it was now. She let out a long sigh to hide her happiness, shaking her head. “I don’t like it, but fine. All we can do now is wait for the next guard visitation, then we can put the plan into action.”

“Awesome,” Peter grinned, “I’m ready to kick ass.”

So they waited. Then waited some more, then some more. The hours seemed to drag on in an endless spiral. Granted, having nothing better to do did bore the teen out of his mind. For Dee, this was the same old job. Trick a superhero into trusting her, then brainwash them into being her henchman. She already had a few minor heroes under her belt, but  _Spider-Man,_ that was huge! If she could pull this off, she would be respected by everyone in her field. It was a crazy goal, but it was crazy enough to work, just like it had every other time.

She had, of course, already trained the henchman to act like guards, and easily submit to whichever one of the two people chained up decided to attack. Normally, the hero stepped up to do the dirty work, but after an incident with a hero going along with her plan, Dee had to rework the script. Through years, her craft had been perfected, and no one ever escaped. No one would ever escape, and no one would ever dare to hurt  _‘poor little Dee McHaeman.’_

The door slammed open, shaking the hanging lights above the two victims. A guard sneered, tossing some food on the ground.  _This was his chance_. Peter nodded to Dee and started to squirm around in the ropes, rubbing his wrists raw within a matter of seconds. Dee nodded back then turned to the guard, clearing her throat. That was the signal. “Guards, help! M-my stomach hurts really bad, I think I’m going to pass out! Get me out of these ropes, quick!”

The guard laughed, going up to Dee and spitting in her face. “As if I would let you out! You’re obviously trying to distract me, which won’t work. I’ve dealt with people like you, lady.”

Dee let out an incredibly convincing sob, shaking her head. “It’s not like that, please! Help me! God, it hurts so bad!” Please, don’t you have any sympathy?!” She ended her rant with a scream, going slack in the ropes.  _That’ll convince Peter that I’m on his team._

_That’ll convince the guards for sure, great job Dee!_ Peter got out of the ropes just as the guard began to ‘help’ Dee, wrists dripping blood. Every drop of blood that left his wrist was followed by a small  _splat_ as it hit the concrete below him. It hurt, hurt like absolute hell, but Peter wouldn’t complain. He never does, he sticks it out because  _he’s a goddamn hero and he can save this damsel in distress, or so help him-_

“Parker, lookout!” Peter turned to Dee, then looked to the left, coming face to face with the tip of a knife. He flipped back, leg swinging up and hitting the guard right in the balls. The guard dropped to the ground with a groan, knife going with him.

Peter let out a triumphant laugh, grabbing the knife and jumping on top of the guards back, keeping him down. “Come on, Dee! Let’s get outta here!” He ran out of the room, dragging the woman with him. “I can feel that the exit is close, just stay quiet, alright?”  _When did I tell her my last name?_

With light steps, the two made it to the door of the warehouse, The air from outside creeping through the cracks of the old, wooden door. The cold air hitting the warmth from inside created the same foggy effect Peter would have when he went outside in the dead of winter to build a snowman with Ned. Every time one of them would crack a joke or laugh, their breath made the same foggy allusion that was created by the door to freedom in front of Peter. That being said, before getting bitten by the radioactive spider, Peter would get sick every year after the annual snowman building event.

Besides that, something felt very wrong. What warehouse had heating? What kind of villains could afford that kind of electric bill? Aside from that, Hell, Norway was in the middle of literally  _nowhere._ What company would hook up heaters in an abandoned warehouse? Things were definitely  _not_ adding up.

“Peter, come on! I’ve got it open, let’s go!” Peter's thoughts distracted him from the creaking of the giant door, followed by the gust of cold air, which was promptly followed by thousands of snowflakes rushing at him. Peter could faintly hear guards heavy footsteps running towards them, which took him away from his inner dialogue and into the moment. “Come on Peter! Hurry! They’re coming!”

The two ran out of the warehouse, going about a hundred feet before Dee fell on her face right into the snow. Peter was already shivering, hugging his practically naked body. Running around in below freezing weather with just his boxers on was not the ideal, but at the moment, it would have to do. Hearing Dee hit the ground was  _not at all_ a pleasant sound. He turned to her, running back and grabbing her arm, dragging her to her feet.  “Come on, a little further Dee! Just until they can’t see us through the blizzard!”

Dee groaned, stumbling alongside Peter. “I-I can’t. I’m so cold, Peter. We’re gonna die out here…” She began to become dead weight in his arms, giving up all hope on escaping alive.

Peter took a deep, determined breath, dragging Dee up, then over his shoulders. Yeah, she was heavy, and yeah, it was around negative twenty degrees, but if this was the only way to save her, so be it. “I’ve got you, hang in there!” Peter carried her about a mile, stumbling along in the snow before dropping into the snow, his whole body numb.

Dee fell off Peters shoulders, slumping into the snow. Suddenly, she began to chuckle, laughing growing as she rose to her full height. “So, you thought you could win? How quaint. Bet you’re so confused, Peter. It’s really too bad,” She kneeled down in front of him, brushing her hand against his cheek. “You’re one of the prettiest ones I’ve se-” She stopped suddenly, choking on the knife that was suddenly in her throat.

Peter stumbled up to his feet, fumbling around before starting to run away. Dee took the knife out, screaming in frustration before going after him. “Was that supposed to hurt, punk?! I’m invincible, look at me! I’m a god compared to you!” Peter groaned and kept pushing on, taking shallow breaths. “You were faking being too tired to go on, weren’t you? When did you figure it out, Peter? When?!”

Peter looked around, turning left then taking an immediate right, hiding behind a giant tree. He gathered all his strength before looking behind him, not seeing the woman, but instead seeing a blood trail that led to exactly where he was seated. It was his own blood, of course. He groaned and grabbed some snow, pursing his lips as grabbed the end of his boxers, tearing off a long strip of cloth. After that, he turned to the other side and tore off the same amount of fabric, taking a deep breath. This would definitely hurt. With a long sigh, he grabbed a chunk of snow and pressed it to his right wrist, letting out a small scream. He secured the snow with the plaid strip of fabric, taking long breaths. After a moment to calm down, he repeated the pattern on his left wrist, standing shakily. This would have to do.  
“Peter, come out malý pavouk!” The woman followed the blood trail, coming upon a rather large tree. She grinned, grabbing onto one of the branches.  _Jackpot_. She quickly jumped to the other side of the tree, intending to scare the teenager, but ended up empty handed.

Peter watched ‘Dee’,  _or whatever her name is_ , from a high branch on the other tree, clearing his throat. “It was easy, miss. The first thing you said was that you saw the guards belt the night before and knew they didn’t have guns. You could’ve seen, but I doubt it with how weird the lighting was in there. Before that, you said you couldn’t tell the difference between night and day, so that seemed a little odd to me, but I didn’t see it as anything too special. A little later, when we were escaping, you called me ‘Parker’. Thing is, I never told you my last name. That’s when I knew something was up. Also the way that guard treated you, I’ve seen a lot of guards in my time and most would tell you to shut the hell up. I thought about it as I dragged you away from the building, then dropped you when everything clicked. So who are you really? Be honest with me, I can kill you in an instant.”

She laughed and looked up, unable to see Peter. She leaned against the giant tree and crossed her arms, picking the underside of her fingernails pretentiously. “My name is Živa, Czech goddess of life. I like to… collect, one may say. You ever heard of Starman? Abin Sur? Wildcat? I’ve got them all. You’re my next one. See, all those superheroes are ones who I… well, I did what I’m doing to you now. Then I brainwashed to follow my orders. Remember the guards? Past heroes. You, Spider-Man, are about to be my pride and joy. My Magnum Opus, if you will.”

Little did Živa know, she was speaking to dead air. Peter had taken off right when she had started talking, running through the branches of trees. After about a half mile Peter came upon a river, making him stop. It was iced over, but the wind in the area was strong enough to hide any sound. He got down from the tree and stumbled to the side of the river, stopping when he came upon a tree with a small hole carved in it. The hole looked like it was once a hiding spot for children, but it was just big enough for Peter to squeeze into. So, being a mostly-frozen, scared, bleeding out teenager, he decided to take advantage of the hole and hide.

He couldn’t see the sun through the snow and clouds, but he could tell that night was coming, which meant that his world was about to get a whole lot colder. That was fine, he couldn’t feel much anyways and he was pretty tired. Whatever happened would happen, he was too exhausted to worry about much else. With faint thoughts of frostbite and pneumonia, Peter fell asleep in the small hovel, hugging himself and trying his best to stay out of the blizzard.

* * *

 

“Tony, stop freaking out. We’ve tracked his suit, he’s in Japan. Let’s go.” Bruce stood from his chair, grabbing a nearby first aid kit. “He’s only been gone for three days, I’m sure he’s fine.”

“But what if he’s not?! God, this is all my fault. He’s just a kid, Bruce. Jesus, I never should have brought him in during the accords.” Tony was sitting at one of his many desks, typing non-stop on his computer. The whole Japan lead felt wrong. Thus him trying to gather every resource possible to find the real spot where Peter Parker was hidden. “Something is wrong, Bruce. He’s not in Japan, I have a gut feeling. Trust me on this, let’s look at… Europe. That feels right.”

Tony jumped back into his searching, much to Bruce’s dismay. “God dammit Tony, we have a location! What if we just send Clint and Nat to look in Japan, we should cover all options instead of just what feels right, right?! Please, you won’t even notice! If Peter’s there, we fly out too. If not, we keep searching. Deal?”

Tony didn’t give a verbal response, he instead just nodded his head as he worked, waving his hand back to Bruce as a way of signaling “go ahead, dipshit.” Bruce took this as his invitation to leave, so he did so, calling Nat and Clint on his way out.

* * *

 

“It’s been a month and all we’ve been getting is false leads.” Bruce sighed dejectedly, shaking his head. “Tony I think it may be time to give up or bring in some better people, we’re no-”

Tony held his hand up, silencing the fellow scientist. “Brucey bear, as much as I appreciate your concern at the moment, I need you to shut up. I think I found something. The serial code was copied onto the clone trackers, right? But none of them have led us to the right place. There was just a tracker that went online in Norway for approximately four seconds that had a different code, but was hooked to the same wiring from Peters suit. If they switched the trackers, then we found our guy. We’re going…” He trailed off, studying the coordinates on the map. “-to Hell, Norway. Come on.” Tony stood up, taking the final swig of his coffee before having his suit assemble around him. “Bring your medical equipment. Grab Wanda, Thor, and Steve too, I have a good feeling about this.”

“Tony, I don’t think-”

“Bruce.” Tony turned his head, glaring at Bruce through his helmet. “This is where he is. Go assemble the team, I’m gonna get a head start. Just sent you the coordinates, see you there.”

Tony took off, leaving Bruce alone in the workshop. He nodded a bit, giving a half-hearted wave to Iron Man’s disappearing form. “Yeah, sure.”

* * *

 

Peter was huddled in the small tree cavern for almost three days before even  _thinking_ about getting out. He didn’t feel hungry anymore- that feeling had disappeared a while ago. He had been sustaining himself through eating the snow near the tree, trying not to dehydrate. It worked, but in addition to not being hungry, he also couldn’t feel… well, anything. His whole body was numb and curled inside the smallest possible area. Luckily he had survived and Živa hadn’t found him, so that was a plus… right?

At first, the days seemed to drag on forever in a constant cycle of worry. Then, over time, the days melded into one. Peter hadn’t even noticed that he had been hiding for almost a week. His powers were keeping him alive, but just barely. It felt like some sort of a hibernation. For the entire week, he was hardly conscious, not even needing to eat. It wasn’t the healthiest way of living, but it kept him alive. He would be saved soon, he  _knew_ he would be. Tony would come with the team and whisk him away. If not…

* * *

 

“I sense magic here, Anthony. Strange, powerful magic. Magic that only a god can perform. Not a norse power, though. This magic is different. Any speculations on who the culprit may be?” Thor walked around a flat area in Hell, Norway. The snow had cleared a bit, leaving the surrounding area easy to see.

Wanda looked around, taking a deep breath. “I know of Živa, she’s the goddess of life in Czech mythology. She’s been rumored to have turned evil, collecting powerful people from around the world. She is just a myth, though. I have never heard anything that would prove these rumors to be true.”

Tony looked around, spotting a warehouse in the distance. He nodded to it. “Well, Thor’s real, so maybe this Živa chick is too. C’mon, let’s head that way.” Bruce, Thor, Wanda, and Steve followed Tony, all five of them freezing, despite this being a hotter day in Hell.

Steve looked to the team after five more minutes of walking, then ran ahead towards Tony, touching his shoulder lightly. It was slightly affectionate, but nothing too romantic. They couldn’t show their budding relationship in front of the team, not yet. “Hey, Tony, I think it might be a good idea to lay low in the warehouse for a little while, warm up, get our energy up, the usual. Even though we’ve only been out here for an hour at most, it’s felt like days.”

Tony gave a nod, looking back at the others. “If Peter isn’t in there, I’ll scout with Thor while the rest of you set up camp. The suit is warmed and Thor never feels anything anyways.” Steve nodded, squeezing Tony’s shoulder, then reluctantly falling back in line with the others as they trudged through the snow. After another twenty minutes they finally reached the warehouse, stumbling inside. Thor slammed the door behind them, Bruce and Wanda rushing into the nearest warm area possible, both of them shaking like leaves.

Steve looked around the warehouse, crossing his arms. “It looks untouched. Weirdest thing is this room with ropes, a broken light, and…” He paused, kneeling to the ground. Steve brushed his finger against the cold concrete, bringing his hand back up to his face. The tips of his fingers were lightly coated with blood that was clearly human. “Oh.”

Tony had been scouting the otherside of the warehouse, frowning when he heard Cap over the comm. “Oh?” He started to rush over, Bruce noticing and following after, confused.

“Tony, there’s blood here. A lot of it. It only makes sense that it would be-” A large clunk could be heard from somewhere in the warehouse, followed by Thor’s booming voice:

“Man of Iron, someone in the distance approaches!”

* * *

 

Peter woke up again, chest heaving for air. It was warmer than it had been in a while, which was probably what woke him up. Instead of the normal, numb feeling, he was exposed to freezing cold weather and pain worse than he could ever imagine. Something felt different. It was as if hope was flaring up inside of him. He crawled out of the tree cavern, pulling himself up to his feet. Peter took a deep breath, wincing at how much his lungs ached, then began to stumble forward, forcing himself through every step. His whole body ached, and after a few minutes of struggling, it was clear that he couldn’t make it any further. Peter could faintly see the warehouse in the distance, glowing some sort of bright yellow, before he passed out in the blank fields of snow.

* * *

 

“Fuck! All at once?! You have to be kidding me. Cap, Wanda, and Thor, go work on destroying the source of power. Bruce, prep to take care of Peter, I’m gonna go grab him.” The team went to do their designated jobs, all of them at the top of their game. The three that were sent to destroy the glowing orb at the back of the warehouse did so, having to fight a few guards on their way. Once finished, they were left with nothing but piles of ash and a small, golden, monkey-shaped diamond. Steve picked it up and slipped it into his pocket, nodding to the others to head back towards the front.

During their fight, Tony flew towards the figure in the snow, kneeling down in front of it. As suspected, it was Peter, freezing, disoriented, and half-naked. Tony slid his arms underneath Peter’s limp body, having his suit warm Peter’s body as he made his way back to the warehouse. This was not good at all.

* * *

 

“-Cursed object. Very powerful, unknown point of origin. I will keep doing research, but it does not seem human. I am sure that we will find out more as time goes on. It looks like it was able to bring Živa and he minions to life, oddly enough. Živa was not real, simply a myth mixed with magic that could control others through the power of this… thing.” Peter heard Wanda from across the room, groaning lightly. He was freezing cold, yet he felt weighed down by pounds of something soft. Blankets, most likely. He also felt something enclosed around his hand, holding on tight, but not tight enough to hurt.

Peter forced his eyes open, wincing at first with the light, then growing used to it. He looked over to his side, seeing Tony sitting next to him, looking on a tablet with one hand while holding Peter’s hand with the other. It was then that Peter noticed his surroundings. He was in an area that looked like a weird hotel room but felt like a hospital. There was definitely a very loud beeping noise, an annoying thing that was shoved in his nose, and a seriously bad feeling in his chest. No, scratch that, his whole body.

Tony looked over, smiling lightly when he saw that Peter was awake. “Hey, kid, good to see you breathing and stuff.” He acted cool in front of the others, but Peter felt a tight squeeze on his hand, signaling that Tony meant much, much more. Peter smiled weakly, trying to sit up. He felt a sudden flare of pain in his chest, which was immediately followed by a heavy coughing fit. Tony looked over, practically dropping his tablet to help Peter slowly sit up and calm down. “Jesus christ, Don’t try that again. I know this must be confusing, but you have to take it slow. Can you even remember anything? You were gone for a month, Peter. You caught the worst form of pneumonia that Bruce has ever seen.”

Peter narrowed his eyes, thinking hard about everything. He couldn’t remember anything at all. He remembered being really cold, hiding in a tree, and hurting his wrists, but he had no idea how and why. A shake of his head caused Tony to frown, then picked up the tablet again, typing out a few things. He looked over at Wanda, nodding slightly. “Try and find out more and see if that object interferes with all memories regarding the item it was centered on. Peter, you lost a lot of blood. I don’t expect you to feel a lot in your wrists or hands right now, but the feeling should start to come back as we give you more fluids and keep you warm. It’s surprising that nothing had to be amputated, but we figure that your powers kept you warm while you were in the wilderness. Almost like a hibernation. There’s a chance that this could be a power development, so when you feel better, Bruce and I want to check it out. Do you have any questions right now? Oh, you’re at our place, forgot to mention that. God, you probably need rest, I’m practically talking your ear off, I was just so worried, we all were, but I felt responsible. Ever since May left you in my care last year… this was practically all my fault, I should have been helping you-” The rest of the team had started to filter out during Tony’s rant, leaving Peter and Tony as the only ones in the room.

Peter took a deep, shaky breath, weakly lifting his arm over to Tony’s, silencing him. “No.” He coughed hard, Tony’s brow furrowing with worry. He reached forward, Peter shaking his head, calming down. “Stop. Not… your… fault. S’in the job… descri-iption.” He let out a series of heavy coughs, fingers twitching in an attempt to squeeze Tony’s arm. Peter’s eyes began to close as he grew exhausted, the smallest movements making feeling like he had run a marathon and a half. “S’fine. M’okay… s’okay dad…” He paused, almost asleep, eyes already closed. He smiled a little, falling asleep with a soft ‘I love you’ muttered. It was almost unintelligible, but Tony heard it.

Those small words from the weak boy warmed his heart. Tony squeezed Peter’s shoulder, a smile gracing his face for the first time in a month. “Love you too, buddy. Sleep well.” He stood up, looking back at Peter one last time before leaving the room, comfortable with the knowledge that Peter would be just fine.

* * *

 

**Epilogue:**

“Please!” Peter poked Tony’s arm every three seconds, holding his mask up in his other hand. Tony was working on his tablet in the kitchen, and Peter was seriously itching to go outside after four months of being kept in. “One night, just one! I need to get back on my game if I’m gonna help you lock up all the bad dudes! It’s only a night, and I promise that if I see something other than petty theft, I’ll call for backup!”

Tony rubbed his eyes, thoroughly annoyed and worn down. “I said no, Peter. No means no.”

“You can’t keep me locked up here forever!”

“I’m not trying to! I want to keep you safe, we haven’t even started training with your hibernation settings yet! Give it a week and ask me again!”

“It’s one night, I won’t need my hibernation settings! I’ll even let you enable training wheels, please! I’m starting to feel like a prisoner-”

“It’s better than you being dead!” Tony shouted suddenly, turning and glaring over at Peter.

The room fell quiet. Bruce shut off the show he had been watching on the other side of the room and quickly left, not wanting to be caught up in what was coming.

Peter stared at Tony, shocked that he would take such a tone. Tony suddenly stood, wiping his eyes angrily, ridding himself of the tears that had sprung. “Do you  _know_ how scared I was, Peter? You were there one minute and gone the next. We don’t even know how it happened. Do you know how scary that is? It could happen again, and who knows if we could find you again if it happened?! It took us a month the last time, you could easily be dead the next and it would be my fault because I couldn’t take care of you. You’re only sixteen, Peter! You’re just starting your life, it would be like killing my kid! I could  _never_ forgive myself. So yeah, maybe I am keeping you here like a prisoner, but it’s much better than finding your cold body in a ditch, isn’t it?!” He took a deep breath, wiping his eyes and cheeks quickly, tear tracks clear on his cheeks.

Peter took a step closer to Tony, grabbing the older mans wrist. “I…” He took a deep breath, biting his lip. “I can’t remember much from what happened, but I don’t think it would happen again. Besides, I’m fine now, right? Look at me. I have the color in my cheeks, a spring in my step, I’m practically better than I used to be. I’m here, I’m alive, we’re fine.”

“You almost weren’t.” Tony collapsed back in his chair, staring at the ground in shock, thousands of thoughts speeding through his head.

Peter took a deep breath, hugging Tony tighter than he ever had before. He stepped back to look at him, studying Tony’s face. “I’m fine now, see? I would say that I would be more careful, but I can’t promise that. All I can promise is that I’ll try and stay alive, and that I’ll call for backup if I think I need it. It wouldn’t be your fault if I died, it would be the fault of the person- or thing- that killed me. I would never blame you,” He paused, taking a deep breath. “I would never blame you dad. I love you.”

Peter hugged him again, more gentle this time. Tony smiled and hugged him back with shaking arms, standing to tower above him. He sighed, running a hand through Peter’s hair. He sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes. “I only want you out for six hours max. You have to take your medicine beforehand and bring your inhaler just in case. If you see anything remotely evil looking, call me. If you are one minute late, I swear to god-”

Peter hugged him tighter before he let go, grinning ear to ear. “Thank you Mr. Stark! I’ll be back in time! You’re the best!” He pulled on his mask, running off to his room to finish getting ready. He just about ran Steve over on his way out of the room, yelling a sorry over his shoulder.

Tony smiled after him, standing as if he were about to stop him. He chuckled and shook his head instead, hugging himself. “Be careful! I’ll kill you if you die, young man!”

Steve laughed, coming over and hugging Tony lightly. “He’ll be fine, Tones. He’s a good kid, he knows how to stay safe.” Steve pressed a kiss to Tony’s cheek, Tony sighing and melting into Steve’s embrace.

“I know. Fuck, when did I turn into a 40-year-old dad? When did I turn not-cool?”

Steve grinned, still holding Tony close. “Probably when May gave you Peter to take care of. So… a year ago? Almost two? Although, it took you awhile to warm up to him, so it’s more likely that it was six months ago. When you lost what you never realized you had.”

Tony rolled his eyes, pecking Steve’s chin. “When did you get so smart? Ugh, I hate you.” A large crash could be heard from upstairs, followed by a groan, then a shout of ‘I’m fine!’

Tony tensed, ready to go upstairs, but was stopped by another kiss from Steve. “He’ll be fine. Let him be, he’s a teenager.”

Tony looked at the stairs, then sighed, nodding slowly. “You’re right, he’ll be fine.” He looked over to Steve, smiling softly.

Steve smiled, kissing Tony’s temple. “You’re a good dad, metal head.” He turned around, staring out the giant wall of windows behind him. Steve smiled as he watched Peter drive off, then looked down at Tony, surprised by how different the genius looked. He wasn’t a fancy, clean-cut playboy anymore. He was just… Tony. An inventing dude who had a bunch of jokes up his sleeves. It was clear that the old Tony had stepped back. No longer was he a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. Now he was just Tony.  _His_  Tony.

Tony watched Peter drive off, hugging Steve a little closer. “Yeah, I guess I am…” He smiled lightly, knowing deep in his heart that everything would be fine.

And everything was.


End file.
